Section 103p. 103

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME I

DONE

at

Vienna

this

eighteenth

day

of

April

one

thousand nine hundred and sixty-one.

(Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, [April 18,

1961])

Vienna

Convention

on

the

Law

of

Treaties

May 23, 1969

VIENNA CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF TREATIES

Done at Vienna on 23 May 1969. Entered into force on 27

January 1980.

The States Parties to the present Convention,

Considering

the fundamental role of treaties in the

history of international relations,

Recognizing the ever-increasing importance of treaties as

a

source

of

international

law

and

as

a

means

of

developing

peaceful

cooperation

among

nations,

whatever their constitutional and social systems,

Noting that the principles of free consent and of good

faith and the pacta sunt servanda rule are universally

recognized,

Affirming that disputes concerning treaties, like other

international disputes, should be settled by peaceful

means and in conformity with the principles of justice

and international law,

Recalling the determination of the peoples of the United

Nations to establish conditions under which justice and

respect for the obligations arising from treaties can be

maintained,

Having

in

mind

the

principles

of

international

law

embodied in the Charter of the United Nations, such as

the principles of the equal rights and self-determination

of peoples, of the sovereign equality and independence of

all States, of non-interference in the domestic affairs of

States, of the prohibition of the threat or use of force and

of universal respect for, and observance of, human rights

and fundamental freedoms for all,

Believing

that

the

codification

and

progressive

development of the law of treaties achieved in the

present Convention will promote the purposes of the

United Nations set forth in the Charter, namely, the

maintenance of international peace and security, the

development of friendly relations and the achievement of

cooperation among nations,

Affirming that the rules of customary international law

will continue to govern questions not regulated by the

provisions of the present Convention,

Have agreed as follows:

PART I Introduction

ARTICLE 1

Scope of the Present Convention

The

present

Convention applies to treaties between

States.

ARTICLE 2

Use of Terms

1. For the purposes of the present Convention:

(a) "treaty" means an international agreement concluded

between

States

in

written

form

and

governed

by

international

law,

whether

embodied

in

a

single

instrument or in two or more related instruments and

whatever its particular designation;

(b) "ratification", "acceptance", "approval" and "accession"

mean in each case the international act so named

whereby a State establishes on the international plane its

consent to be bound by a treaty;

(c) "full powers" means a document emanating from the

competent authority of a State designating a person or

persons to represent the State for negotiating, adopting

or authenticating the text of a treaty, for expressing the

consent of the State to be bound by a treaty, or for

accomplishing any other act with respect to a treaty;

(d) "reservation" means a unilateral statement, however

phrased or named, made by a State, when signing,

ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to a treaty,

whereby it purports to exclude or to modify the legal

effect

of

certain

provisions

of

the

treaty

in

their

application to that State;

(e) "negotiating State" means a State which took part in

the drawing up and adoption of the text of the treaty;

(f)

"contracting

State"

means

a

State

which

has

consented to be bound by the treaty, whether or not the

treaty has entered into force;

(g) "party" means a State which has consented to be

bound by the treaty and for which the treaty is in force;

(h) "third State" means a State not a party to the treaty;

(i)

"international

organization"

means

an

intergovernmental organization.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 regarding the use of

terms in the present Convention are without prejudice to

the use of those terms or to the meanings which may be

given to them in the internal law of any State.

ARTICLE 3

International Agreements Not Within the Scope of the

Present Convention

The fact that the present Convention does not apply to

international agreements concluded between States and

other subjects of international law or between such other

subjects

of

international

law,

or

to

international

agreements not in written form, shall not affect:

(a) the legal force of such agreements;

(b) the application to them of any of the rules set forth in

the present Convention to which they would be subject

under international law independently of the Convention;

(c) the application of the Convention to the relations of

States

as

between

themselves

under

international

agreements to which other subjects of international law

are also parties.

ARTICLE 4

Non-retroactivity of the Present Convention

Without prejudice to the application of any rules set forth

in the present Convention to which treaties would be

subject under international law independently of the

Convention, the Convention applies only to treaties which

are concluded by States after the entry into force of the

present Convention with regard to such States.

ARTICLE 5

Treaties Constituting International Organizations and

Treaties Adopted Within an International Organization

The present Convention applies to any treaty which is the

constituent instrument of an international organization

and

to

any

treaty

adopted

within

an

international

organization without prejudice to any relevant rules of

the organization.

PART II Conclusion and Entry into Force of

Treaties

SECTION 1 Conclusion of Treaties

ARTICLE 6

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